Shattered Glass
by Fire Gazer the Alchemist
Summary: Cherliee begins class by introducing a new student, Obsidian Glass. Noticing his lack of a Cutie Mark, the CMC quickly try to integrate him into their club. Only one problem, Glass doesn't care about his Cutie Mark for some odd reason. Will the trio be successful in this new crusade?
1. New Kid in Town

**Hello fellow Bronies, this is Fire Gazer the Alchemist. Just wanted to say that this story came to me a long time ago, but I only just now managed to write the first chapter. Also, I can't update this one very often either [insert array of frowny faced emoticons here] because I'm placing top priority to my other story. [I'm not saying that you have to go to my profile and read the story, but yeah, do that.] Anyways, I hope everypony likes this story.**

**Chapter One – New Kid in Town**

Applebloom flicked the pencil on her desk gently, so it rolled forward then back onto her hoof. She repeated this expression of boredom as she tried in vain to cancel out the rowdy noises that everypony in the classroom was making. Cheerilee was five minutes late to starting class, so naturally everypony in the schoolhouse had decided to do whatever they wanted.

She kicked the pencil forward again, but this time it decided to mutiny and slide over the edge of her desk. It dropped to the floor and rolled all the way to the empty desk beside of her, out of reach of her hooves. With an exasperated sigh, Applebloom resigned herself to the fact that she would have to get up to retrieve her only pencil. Before she could stand; however, the classroom around her quickly hushed into an eerie silence. Looking up, Applebloom saw the Cheerilee had walked back inside.

And she wasn't alone.

Beside her was a colt that Applebloom had never seen before. He had black hair with a single silver streak in it that curved back like a razor. His coat was white in contrast, and the lack of a horn or wings pegged him as an Earth pony. His eyes were the only splash of color; a leafy green hue that cut through the class, sizing up everypony in it. His mouth was not curved in a smile, but he certainly wasn't frowning either.

"Class," Cheerilee said, breaking the silence. "This is Obsidian Glass, he's new to Ponyville, and our newest student as well." Applebloom was surprised there weren't crickets chirping. Nopony in the class moved, or spoke. They just stared at the foreigner with mild curiosity.

"Well don't everypony welcome me at once." Obsidian said with a voice as smooth as, well… glass.

Laughter sprang from the back of the class, the unmistakable snorts came from Snips and Snails. "It's funny because we're not!" Snips managed through his uncontrollable fit.

Cheerilee sighed. "Well, Obsidian…"

"Glass. Just call me Glass." He interrupted. Cheerilee began again.

"Well, Glass just take an empty desk anywhere in the room."

The colt nonchalantly walked straight to the desk by Applebloom –probably because it was the one closest – and sat down. Cheerilee turned to the board and started writing down multiplication tables.

Easily ignoring the pony beside her, Applebloom prepared to copy down the problems on the board. Then she remembered her pencil shortage. The yellow filly turned her head back to where the pencil was. Right next to Glass's hoof.

"Psst." She directed toward him. He turned his head slightly, watching her from the corner of his eye. "Can you get my pencil?" She whispered, indicating where it was. His eyes lazily drifted down to where her hoof pointed. With disinterest, he flicked his hoof swiftly, sending the pencil into the air and landing it right on Applebloom's desk. It was so unexpected, that she verbally gasped. Cheerilee turned to face her.

"Is there something you'd like to add, Applebloom?" Her teacher asked, pointing at the board. Applebloom hadn't been paying attention, and was now lost in the labyrinth of equations that called itself a chalkboard.

"Uhhh… umm…" She sputtered.

"She was just reminding me that I would need a pencil to work out those problems." Glass said, coming to her rescue. "Thanks, Applebloom." He said to her, while producing a pencil from his saddlebag.

While Glass occupied himself with the math problems, Applebloom gave an uneasy smile to acknowledge he was right. Cheerilee was appeased, and turned back to the board.

Applebloom looked at Glass as he worked on the problems. The new kid definitely had her attention now. But it was also unnerving, the way he so easily lied to Cheerilee. Applebloom never got away with lying, ever. How had this colt managed to do it so casually, like it was the easiest thing in the world?

The yellow filly filed that question away for later, and returned her focus to the looming math problems that she had evaded for far too long. The bell for recess rang came by faster than expected.

Applebloom meant to ask Glass about his skill at lying, but as the class moved outdoors for recess, and blur of orange and white swept her away from him.

"Hey Applebloom!" Sweetie Belle's voice rang out as the trio walked onto the playground.

"Hey Sweetie Belle. Hey Scootaloo." She said. Not wanting to be rude, she let her best friends steer her away to the far side of the playground.

"I really wish we didn't have to do so many math problems." Scootaloo said, beginning a conversation that would likely not die down in time for Applebloom to talk to Glass. "Math stinks."

"With your luck, you'll get solving math problems for your Cutie Mark." Sweetie Belle said. Scootaloo made a face of disgust.

"There isn't a single pony in Equestria who would want a math Cutie Mark." She responded.

"So what are we going to try for our next crusading attempt?" Applebloom asked.

"I was thinking extreme sports." Scootaloo said, a fire in her eyes. "I know this one place where…"

"Can't we try something less… extreme… for our Cutie Marks?" Sweetie Belle said. "The last time you suggested a sport, a dodge ball knocked my tooth out." The purple-haired filly revealed a gaping hole in her mouth, where an adult tooth had yet to grow into. Scootaloo blushed, ashamed to be the guilty party in that story.

"Well then suggest somethin' else." Applebloom said. Sweetie Belle opened her mouth to respond, but never got the chance.

"Hey Blank Flank!" an all-too-familiar voice yelled from across the playground. The Crusaders cringed simultaneously, thinking it was directed at them. Applebloom peaked over her shoulder expecting to see Diamond Tiara for a daily dose of bullying. Only she wasn't there.

Instead, the pink bully and her silver sidekick had found a new victim. Obsidian Glass.

"Glass is a blank flank?" Applebloom said in shock. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked at each other in confusion.

"You mean you didn't know?" The orange filly asked.

"You're usually the first to notice that kind of thing." Sweetie insisted. Applebloom bit her lip, realizing that she hadn't focused on that at all.

"We'd better go get Diamond Tiara off his back." Scootaloo said, as if defending fellow blanks was a chore. The three ran towards the two fillies, now taunting Glass. When they got close enough, they could hear the exact insults.

"Hey blank flank, she's talking to you!" Silver Spoon said to Glass.

"What?" He asked, not afraid but just slightly annoyed.

"How does it feel, to know you still don't have a Cutie Mark?" The pink filly asked.

Glass put on one of the cheesiest, fake-friendly smiles possible and said. "Fantastic. And how does it feel to be a brat?" Upon hearing this, Applebloom and her friends stopped in mid-run. Nopony talked to Diamond Tiara that way. In curiosity, the majority of the class swooped in around them.

Shocked for a moment by the question itself, Diamond was at a loss for words. Finally she managed a well thought out, "Excuse me?"

"No really, I am curious." He continued, fake smile ablaze. "What is it like, to have nothing to do but point out shortcomings of others when your own flaws are right out there for the world to see? What exactly do you do besides walk around calling ponies 'blank flank' because that is literally the most intelligent level that your brain can function at? In short, what is it like to be an undeniable, unquestionable brat?"

Diamond Tiara had no answer to that. Silver Spoon managed a half-hearted, "You can't talk to her like that." The bell for recess rang at that moment, sparing Diamond Tiara anymore humiliation. The ponies that had been listening dispersed. All except for three.

"Wow." Applebloom said. There wasn't much else to say. Nopony had ever stood up to Diamond Tiara like that, and the ones who tried normally ended up in the fetal position crying for their mothers. Glass trotted back inside, his victory secure.

"Did you girls see that?" Sweetie Belle said with amazement and excitement.

"Yeah." Applebloom said. "What do you think of it?"

"I think," Scootaloo said. "That Glass is Crusader material."


	2. Eternal Sunshine of the Pacing Mind

**Thanks to the Bronies and Pegasisters who have been reading so far. I know that I'm probably not posting at a pace your happy with, but deal with it, I'm already overworked. Uh, lets see... reviews, follows, and favorites are greatly appreciated... and umm... yeah that's it for now.**

**Chapter Two – Eternal Sunshine of the Pacing Mind**

Sweetie Belle paced for the three hundred and fifteenth time across the floor of the clubhouse. Applebloom still had not shown up, despite being the one who called the meeting. Scootaloo was absent as well, meaning Sweetie Belle could do nothing but pace.

Three hundred sixteen

The remainder of class had been mildly uninteresting to say the least. Diamond Tiara had been flushed with anger, but sat quietly in her desk, not speaking for the rest of the day. Most of the subtle whispers that occurred behind Cheerilee's back were about the recess incident. No surprise there.

The elephant in the room – so to speak – barely spoke for the rest of class, and handed his work in when the final bell rang just like everypony else. No sooner had that final bell rung, than when Glass had walked right out of the schoolhouse, and disappeared off the face of Equestria. Determined to find him, and begin recruiting a newest member – an idea that Sweetie Belle had not technically agreed to – Applebloom suggested they split up to search and then meet up again at the clubhouse later.

Sweetie Belle had given a search, despite it being a half-hearted one, and found no Obsidian Glass anywhere. Promptly, she arrived at the clubhouse earlier than her friends, and the pacing had begun.

Three hundred seventeen.

"Where are those two?" She asked the wall in front of her. It did not respond. It just stood there, as blank as her flank, giving her no answers. The window, sitting off to the side of the wall revealed a sunset of orange and reds that would have been breath taking under normal circumstances She groaned inwardly, unable to enjoy the sunset, and paced for the three hundred and eighteenth time.

Her mind flooded with the days events yet again, as Sweetie Belle's meticulous nature compelled her to search for something she missed. School, recess, Glass telling off Diamond Tiara, more school, miniscule amount of searching, pacing.

Three hundred nineteen.

Apparently that was her lucky number, because the door flew open and a sweaty, exhausted Scootaloo walked in. She dragged her scooter in behind her, looking kind of depressed.

"What happened to you?" Sweetie Belle asked the orange filly.

"I was riding around town trying to find Glass," Scootaloo said, propping her scooter up. "And I hit a pothole near Sugar Cube Corner." Inspecting the scooter further, Sweetie Belle saw that the front wheel was bent.

"Will your scooter be okay?" Sweetie Belle asked with genuine concern.

Scootaloo nodded, flinging her sweat around the room. "It should. I mean, I hope so. I've never broken this thing before." The orange filly started fiddling with the wheel. Sweetie Belle could see her friend biting back sadness, but she had no way to address it.

Steps outside came to Sweetie's rescue, as Applebloom arrived. "Hey, girls." She said, with all the usual meaning, but not the usual perkiness.

"Hi Applebloom, how did the search go?" Scootaloo said.

"Bad." The yellow filly said. "No sign of Glass anywhere." She noticed Scootaloo sitting with her damaged wheel. "Scoots what happened?"

The orange filly recounted her tale of woe curtly for her. Sweetie Belle saw more concern on Applebloom's face than on Scootaloo's. None of the fillies spoke for a moment, as they digested the possibility of Scootaloo never riding her scooter again.

"Look, my scooter will be fine." Scootaloo said, putting on a brave face. "We need to figure out how to find Glass."

"If we don't find him, I guess we can't invite him to be a Crusader." Sweetie Belle said with false disappointment.

"Ah wouldn't worry 'bout that." Applebloom said. "He'll be in class tomorrow anyways. We outta be able to ask him then."

"Great." Sweetie Belle said with no real joy in it. Neither of her friends seemed to notice. Scootaloo was bent over her scooter attempting to crudely realign the wheel. Applebloom was staring out the window at Celestia's sun, which had begun its descent to make room for Luna's moon.

"It's gettin' to be pretty late." She said. "Ah gotta get home before Applejack gets mad."

"Okay." Scootaloo said, still preoccupied with her scooter.

Applebloom headed for the door as Sweetie Belle waved her off. She started to dread tomorrow, wondering what Glass would say about their offer. Scootaloo stood up too.

"I think I need to head home to." The orange filly said. "Clearly this scooter needs somepony who knows what they're doing to fix it."

"Okay, see you tomorrow then." Sweetie Belle said as her magenta-haired friend dragged her scooter out of the door to the clubhouse. Scootaloo waved back at her before disappearing down the ramp.

Sweetie was now alone in the clubhouse with only her thoughts to occupy her. She considered more pacing but decided against it. A three hundred and twentieth time might give her insanity.

Looking out the window, she saw that the sun was almost completely down. Sighing, she realized it only meant tomorrow was that much closer. Getting up to go home, Sweetie Belle found herself hoping Glass would decline an offer to get into the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

She didn't really hate Glass – he had given her no reason too—but something about him just seemed… off. It wasn't something that Sweetie Belle could put her hoof on just yet, but it was giving her discomfort. The way Diamond Tiara's insults just bounced off him was unnatural. How was he immune to her taunts?

There was something else too. When the pink bully had asked Glass what it felt like to be a blank flank, he said, "Fantastic." It hadn't even come across as sarcastic either.

Sweetie Belle shook her head. _You're being irrational._ She scolded herself. Sure Glass was weird, but he deserved a chance. The white filly resigned herself to that much.

She walked out the clubhouse into the now dark night, shutting the door behind her.


	3. It's an Inanimate Bucking Object

**This is my favorite chapter title so far. It's a quote (though I did ponify for censoring purposes) from In Bruges, if you haven't seen the movie, at least watch the scene with this quote in it for a good laugh, cause there is no laughing in this chapter.**

**Chapter Three – It's An Inanimate Bucking Object**

The three undamaged wheels of her scooter dragged along in the dirt, making small trails in the ground behind her. The bent wheel was kept above ground, spared the humiliating job of creating a trench simply out of fear that it might break further. This was probably the first time in years Scootaloo had never rode home on her scooter. It was kind of depressing.

It also wasn't going to depress her. Scootaloo was sure the blue scooter could be fixed. It had to be. That scooter had been her best friend before meeting Sweetie Belle and Applebloom. She learned how to ride it before she could walk. In an attempt to remember life before her scooter, Scootaloo failed to come up with anything.

But it would be fixed. It was only a bent wheel, right? No way that could put her best friend out of commission. No way at all.

The orange filly abruptly stopped her trudging in front of a modest house at the end of the road. Looking back she saw the seemingly endless, three-pronged trail she had inadvertently dug stretching all the way to the edge of the street. Nope, that wasn't going to depress her.

Turning back to the house, her house to be accurate, she knocked on the door. Nothing. Her dad was absent again. Scootaloo didn't keep a spare key to the house on her, but she knew where her father kept the spare.

Rolling the welcome mat over, Scootaloo scooped up the key and inserted in the lock. The familiar click of the tumblers, and she was in. The magenta-haired filly no longer dragged her scooter with her, she propped it up against the coat rack that her father insisted on having, despite never having owned a coat. Instinctively taking off her helmet, Scootaloo realized that she hadn't need to wear it for the trip home. She set it by her scooter nonetheless, and moved deeper into the living room. There she found a note that had been hastily scribbled by her father.

Scootaloo –

Called into a business trip at the last minute. Sorry to do this to you kiddo, but it was urgent. Food's in the pantry and Derpy will stop by to check on you in the morning. Be back in two days.

-Dad

What else had Scootaloo expected? It was another good ole disappearing act by her father. No warning whatsoever and poof… he was out of her life for a few days. Then he would pop back in to say hi, and leave just as fast. It hadn't been so bad when Scootaloo's mom was alive. They used to stay up late and talk and make smores. It was like a slumber party that never ended. Until, well… it ended forever.

But Scootaloo refused to be depressed.

She walked into the kitchen, and selected an apple for her dinner. Chomping into the first bite, she kicked around what to do for the rest of the night. She had homework from school, but she felt like procrastinating it. It was math. She hated math.

May this day would depress her after all.

Biting into her apple, Scootaloo heard a loud clang. Perplexed, she looked at the apple and wondered for a moment if she had somehow caused that noise. Before she even had time to dismiss the thought, another loud clang occurred. This time Scootaloo could tell it was coming outside.

Glancing out the window, Scootaloo saw something she never expected to see outside of her kitchen window. Obsidian Glass was standing out in the street, flinging pebbles at a metal garbage can.

_Clang._

Another stone ricocheted off the trash can. Scootaloo stared at Glass quizzically. There were plenty of questions racing in her mind right now. Instead of thinking about them, Scootaloo decided to take action.

The orange filly bounded out her front door and around the corner to Glass. His back was turned, so he didn't see her come out. He chucked another pebble at the trash can.

_Clang_.

He raised his hoof to throw another one. Scootaloo spoke first.

"Hey." She said. His hoof halted in midair. The white colt turned around and looked at Scootaloo with his piercing green eyes.

"Hi." Glass said. "Do I know you?"

"We're in the same class. I remember cause you burned Diamond Tiara at recess today."

"Oh, so that's her name." Glass said. "Well she earned it. Nice to meet you by the way." He dropped the tiny stone he had intended to throw and extended his hoof to her. She shook it.

"I'm Scootaloo." She said. There was silence. Glass grabbed another hoof-full of stones and when back to assaulting the trash can. After two dents had been made Scootaloo's curiosity peaked. "What are you doing?"

"Throwing rocks at garbage cans." He said nonchalantly. Scootaloo bit her lip. She hated sarcasm sometimes.

"I know, but… why?" She asked.

"Cause my dad is an angry drunk." Glass responded with an equal amount of indifference. Scootaloo blinked in shock.

"W-what?"

"My dad…" _Clang_ "… is an…" _Clang_ "…angry…" _Clang_ "…drunk." He repeated striking the trash can harder each time. Scootaloo walked up next to Glass. She honestly didn't know what to say.

"Umm… sorry." She finally said.

"Don't apologize. It's not your fault." He said, hurling another stone. "My mom always sends me to my room when he gets drunk. I usually just sneak out and do whatever." _Clang._ "This time I felt like throwing rocks at a garbage can." He had one stone left. Looking over at Scootaloo he said, "I take it you don't like your dad too much either."

"Well, not really. How did you know?" She asked.

"Says it all over your face." He tossed her the last rock. She caught it easily. "See ya in school." Scootaloo watched him walk away for a moment as he rounded the corner by her house. Turning back to the trash can, Scootaloo decided to give it a go. She threw the rock as hard as she possibly could, yet it only bounced off the trash can with a dull pang. Inspecting the steel can, she saw that her throw hadn't even made a dent. Obsidian Glass on the other hoof seemed to have made a dent in every throw. Some even tore holes in the trash can.

Scootaloo was impressed to say the least. Then, she suddenly remembered she was supposed to ask Glass to join the Crusaders. Running to catch up to him, the orange filly rounded the same corner he had. Even though it had only been a few seconds since the dark-haired colt left, Scootaloo saw no pony there. Obsidian Glass had vanished.


	4. The Million Dollar Question

**Chapter Four – The Million Dollar Question**

"And he just, disappeared?" Applebloom asked. Scootaloo nodded, clearly telling the truth.

"I just don't see how that's possible." Sweetie Belle said. "Ponies don't just disappear like that."

The trio pondered this fact as they trudged onward to the schoolhouse. The early morning light of Celestia's sun shone in their eyes as they walked down the familiar path.

"Well at least we'll be able to ask him to join the Cutie Mark Crusaders today." Applebloom said, shielding her eyes with her hoof.

"Yeah." Sweetie Belle said. Applebloom thought she detected a note of dread in her friend's voice.

"Was that all Scootaloo?" Applebloom asked. The orange filly nodded her head.

"After he left I just went inside and tried to fix my scooter. Without much success." Scootaloo's lack of an actual scooter affirmed that statement. "By the way, can I copy your math homework?" She added.

Both Sweetie Belle and Applebloom groaned, used to this kind of behavior by now.

"Really Scootaloo?" Sweetie Belle asked, though she knew the answer. After a little bit of persuading, Scootaloo managed to coax Sweetie into giving up the answers.

The schoolhouse came into view at last, and a bell rang out from inside. The trio ran forward, realizing they would soon be late. They managed to make it inside before class had begun. Applebloom saw that Obsidian Glass had already arrived and was sitting in the same desk as yesterday.

Cheerilee told the rest of the class to get seated. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle took their seats toward the back of the class, while Applebloom sat in her desk right beside the mysterious colt. He nodded, acknowledging her existence, but didn't say anything to her.

"Class, today's lesson is on Equestrian history…" Cheerilee began. Applebloom tried to pay attention to her, but felt her mind drift. She formulated a plan in her mind to ask Glass to join the Crusaders, playing out the scenario in her head dozens of times. She kept exchanging anxious glances at the clock every twenty minutes, only to learn that about five minutes had passed overall. The yellow filly eagerly waited for recess as the day's lesson droned on, switching eventually to language, then science, and then finally math.

Halfway through the lesson, a piece of paper landed on Applebloom's desk. Checking the direction of the thrower, Applebloom saw that it was Diamond Tiara, who was trying hard not to laugh. Unfolding the paper, Applebloom saw that it was blank and she groaned inwardly. At least once a week Diamond Tiara pulled the same joke that she had been using on Applebloom since the beginning of the year. It was tiresome to say the least.

"Look familiar, Applebloom?" Diamond whispered at her. She could think of no reply. As it turned out, she didn't need to.

"Yeah," Glass whispered, having overheard the conversation. "It looks like your IQ score." Applebloom choked back a laugh, while Diamond Tiara's cheeks burned with anger. The pink filly turned back to her work, almost unable to contain her outrage. Applebloom turned to thank Glass, but he had already redirected his attention to the board, pretending the encounter had not happened.

As her magenta teacher finished her lesson on geometry, Applebloom almost prematurely jumped out of her seat. The bell rang and the class full of ponies rushed out to enjoy recess. In the havoc, Applebloom lost sight of Glass.

Once outside, she regrouped with Sweetie and Scootaloo. "Didya see where he went?" She asked them. Both fillies shook their heads. "Darn. How does he keep disappearing on us?" Neither had an answer for her, so they began scouring the playground.

It seemed like a futile effort before too long. Glass wasn't near the school, on any of the playground equipment, or socializing with anypony. Applebloom asked around, but Featherweight hadn't seen him, and Snips and Snails simultaneously pointed her in opposite directions before laughing at their own joke.

Sweetie Belle seemed to put little to know effort into the search. Merely glancing in a direction or two before she gave up and moved on. That was very unlike her, Applebloom decided. Normally her purple-haired friend was ecstatic about things like this.

Finally they caught a break when Scootaloo came running up declaring she had found him. Making a mental note to talk to Sweetie Belle later, Applebloom ran to where Scootaloo led them.

Towards the fringe of the schoolyard – right before the forest area began – there was a large oak tree. Scootaloo was apparently leading the Crusaders in that direction. Applebloom assumed that Glass was sitting on one side of the giant oak tree, which is why they hadn't found him earlier.

Scootaloo suddenly stopped before rounding the tree trunk, which gave Applebloom little time to stop before crashing into her orange friend. She did however, manage to stop. Sweetie Belle on the other hoof, hadn't realized that her friends had ceased running, and crashed into Applebloom. The yellow filly promptly tumbled into Scootaloo, and all three fell onto the ground.

"Sorry." Sweetie Belle said, disentangling herself from the pile.

"It's okay." Applebloom said, getting up. She looked around. "Hey Scootaloo, didn't you say you found Glass?" The yellow filly asked.

Scootaloo stood. "Yeah I did." Then she pointed up. Craning her neck back, Applebloom looked up the massive tree. There she saw a white pony lying supine on a branch. It was Glass.

"What the…" Sweetie Belle said. Applebloom merely stood dumbstruck. Somehow Glass had ascended the gap between the ground and the lowest branch on the tree, which was twenty feet up.

Applebloom began to form a question. "So what do we ––"

"Hey Glass!" Scootaloo suddenly screamed. Applebloom flinched with the sudden fear that Glass would fall out of the tree in shock. He didn't. As best she could tell, he stretched out his hooves as if waking from a nap, and rolled over to look down at them.

"Hi Scootaloo." He said. "Ya need something?"

"Yah! My friends and I wanted to ask you a question." Wordlessly, the dark-haired colt jumped off the tree limb. Applebloom and Scootaloo both gasped as he sailed to the ground. Sweetie Belle watched in silence, her eyes wide. Just before he hit the ground, Glass curled up into a ball, and managed a safe tuck and roll. He stood up and brushed himself off, completely unharmed.

"Are you crazy?" Applebloom screamed at him. "You could have killed yourself!"

"I wouldn't have gotten up there if I couldn't get myself down again. Now if that was the question you were referring to…"

"No, that wasn't it." Scootaloo said. Glass shrugged, then he looked at Sweetie.

"Who exactly are you?" He asked.

"Uh… Sweetie Belle." She said sort of surprised, as if she didn't expect Glass to even look at her.

"Okay. Now the question?" Obsidian Glass said.

"Oh right." Scootaloo remembered. "Would you like to join the Cutie Mark Crusaders?" Glass blinked inquisitively. Applebloom decided to elaborate for him.

"We're a club," She said. "Dedicated to finding our Cutie Marks. We go on adventures to discover our destinies and find our special talents."

"So what do you say? You wanna join?" Scootaloo asked eagerly. Faintly, Applebloom heard Sweetie Belle sigh.

Glass looked as if he was pondering the offer. A moment passed that felt like an hour to Applebloom. Then he spoke. "No thanks."

The Crusaders each reacted differently. Applebloom was sure she looked like a fish thrown out of water. Scootaloo looked something like she did when her scooter broke. And Sweetie Belle looked… relieved?

Without even giving the Crusaders a moment to digest what he'd said, Glass gave them a friendly smile and said, "Goodbye." Then he turned and trotted off just as the bell to end recess rang.

Stunned and a little downtrodden, Applebloom walked back to school slowly, her friends right behind her.

* * *

**Whew! I barely got this one done before vacation. More or less I've had to do this fanfic in my free time (of which there is none), and at the same time as my other one. So yeah, the well of creativity is starting to run a little dry. Don't worry though, I'll work on this story no matter what.**

**In Bronyhood,**

**Fire Gazer the Alchemist**


	5. A City Upon A Hill

**Chapter Five – A City Upon A Hill**

"Well Ah just don't get it." Applebloom said. "Why didn't he wanna join the Crusaders?"

"I don't know, Applebloom." Sweetie Belle said for the twentieth time. The purple-haired filly was wishing the topic of Obsidian Glass would be dropped soon. Applebloom seemed determined to make sure that wish died.

"Aren't you curious though?" The yellow filly asked her. "Ah mean, was it something we said? Did he not like the name?"

"There's nothing wrong with our name." Sweetie Belle said. "Just let it go already."

"Ah can't." Applebloom said. Scootaloo sighed softly in the corner. The orange pegasus had been unusually quiet as of late. She had been sitting in the corner of the clubhouse, mutely staring out the window for the past half hour. Sweetie Belle was actually starting to worry about her.

During the rest of the school day, Glass hadn't talked to any of them. He had just done his work and then left wordlessly when the bell rang. Vanishing in the same way he had the previous day. So far the group as a whole hadn't been taking it well.

"Look, he didn't want to join the Crusaders alright? You two just need to accept that and move on." Sweetie said, attempting to reel in her friends from their emotional upheaval. All of which had been caused by Glass. Sweetie Belle was really starting to dislike that colt.

"You don't seem too upset about it, Sweetie Belle." Applebloom said. "Don't you care that Glass didn't want to join?"

"Well, not really." Sweetie responded. Applebloom looked at her quizzically. "I mean, I just didn't want him to join. I have this weird feeling about him."

"Oh?" Applebloom said with a giddy grin. Scootaloo looked at her.

Sweetie Belle groaned. "Not _that _kind of feeling." She said. "It's just like he's hiding something. I don't trust him."

"Why?" Applebloom said, returning to the argument. "Ah get that he's a little weird, but that's no reason distrust somepony." Sweetie frowned.

"I gotta go with my instincts here. Sorry Applebloom, but I just can't shake that weird feeling about him."

"Glass." Scootaloo spoke, probably for the first time in hours.

"Yeah, Glass. I don't trust him because—–"

"No, Glass!" Scootaloo interrupted. "It's him. He's right outside!"

"Where? Let me see!" Applebloom ran over to the window by Scootaloo. The orange pegasus was pointing to somewhere outside Sweetie's vision. Applebloom looked only for a moment before she apparently saw the dark-haired colt. The two both looked elated. Sweetie Belle decided to hang back, hoping the Glass hysteria would be short lived. It wasn't.

"Let's go talk to him!" Scootaloo said, a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

"And say what?" Sweetie asked.

"We can ask him why he didn't wanta join the Crusaders." Applebloom suggested. "Maybe even change his mind!" Scootaloo nodded. While Sweetie Belle didn't doubt Applebloom's desire to root out any problems within their club and make it perfect, but Scootaloo did not appear to share her motive. The white unicorn filly wasn't quite sure what Scootaloo's motives were, but it made her uncomfortable.

Her two friends were already making their way to the clubhouse door. Sweetie Belle sighed, resigning herself to follow instead of being left behind. Applebloom dashed down the ramp, while Scootaloo chose the less bright move and leaped off the clubhouse's ledge in the tree. She attempted to perform a tuck and roll technique similar to Obsidian Glass's from the playground. Only difference was that she wasn't nearly as graceful. The orange pegasus pulled herself off of the ground, seemingly unhurt, and continued running with Applebloom.

Sweetie Belle shifted from a slow trot to a full on sprint to keep up with her friends. Only as she began to near them did Sweetie catch her first sight of Glass. Just as Scootaloo had said, the white Earth pony just happened to be out wandering the woods. Sweetie Belle felt like scoffing at how convenient it was. Or rather, how inconvenient it was for her.

"Hey Glass!" Scootaloo cried as they neared him. His ears rose at the mention of his name. Turning to face them, Sweetie Belle saw that his white coat was slightly purple under his eye.

"Hi Scootaloo, Applebloom." He paused slightly when seeing her. "Sweetie Belle, right?"

"Yes." She said, surprised he bothered to remember her name.

"What happened to ya?" Applebloom asked, also having noticed the purple bruise on Glass's face.

He covered it with his hoof. "Nothing. I ran into a wall." Sweetie Belle found herself struck with how odd it was that such a coordinated colt could have been so careless. "What do you girls want?" He asked, diverting the conversation away from his bruise.

"Ohh you know… just happened to be in the woods and saw you wandering around, and uh…" Scootaloo attempted to form a coherent sentence but seemed too… giddy… at the moment. Sweetie Belle had never known her pegasus friend to be giddy about anything unless she was talking about Rainbow Dash.

"We wanted to ask ya about joining the Crusaders again." Applebloom said, saving Scootaloo. Glass hesitated before answering.

"I don't think I'll be changing my mind about that." He said. Sweetie Belle breathed in relief. Applebloom didn't appear as happy as the white unicorn.

"Buy why dontcha wanna join?" The yellow filly asked.

Obsidian Glass didn't waste a beat this time. "I'm not really into discovering my Cutie Mark." All three Crusaders did a double take when he said that. They had never met a pony who wasn't eager to discover their destiny before.

"What?" Sweetie Belle cried.

"Why not?" Scootaloo shouted over her.

Glass just shrugged and looked off to the side. "I'd prefer not to talk about right now. Okay?"

"Is something wrong?" Applebloom asked him.

"No," He said. "It's… it's nothing Applebloom."

"It doesn't sound like nothing." Scootaloo said. Obsidian sighed.

"I… my dad kicked me out alright?" The Crusaders were stunned. Sweetie Belle had never heard of something like that happening before.

"What? How could he?" Scootaloo asked.

"He's an angry drunk, remember." Glass said. "And tonight, I may have pushed him too far. So he kicked me out."

"That's awful." Sweetie Belle said. She meant it too. No family member of hers had ever done that. Sure Rarity got a little cross with her sometimes, but never to that extent.

"And your mother just let him do that?" Scootaloo asked.

"She's never been the best at standing up to him." Glass said, being deliberately vague.

"So you don't have any place to stay tonight?" Applebloom said, watching Celestia's sun begin its descent below the horizon. Glass shook his head. Sweetie Belle could tell her friend was about to make a split second decision. "You can stay at mah place then." The yellow filly said confirming Sweetie's theory.

Now it was Glass's turn to do a double take. "What?" He said.

"What?" Sweetie Belle reiterated.

"What?" Scootaloo echoed.

"Sure, why not?" Applebloom asked. "You'd have to sleep in the barn though. Applejack doesn't let me have sleepovers with colts for some reason."

There was a moment of silence. Sweetie Belle could practically see gears turning in Glass's head. "Okay then." He finally said.

"Great!" Applebloom said. She turned to her friends. "Can one of you help me sneak Glass into mah barn?" Sweetie Belle felt confident that Scootaloo would volunteer.

"I'd like too." The orange filly said. "But Derpy was supposed to check on me today, and I can't keep her waiting." Applebloom looked to Sweetie Belle.

The purple-haired filly really didn't want to partake in Applebloom's crazy scheme, but she couldn't be rude to Glass when he was right in front of her. Also, she lacked a real excuse. Putting on a hollow smile she said, "I'd love to Applebloom."

Her friend gave an enthusiastic smile, but Sweetie Belle didn't feel nearly as good about it.

* * *

Standing right outside Sweet Apple Acres, Sweetie Belle couldn't help but wish she had declined the chance to help Applebloom. Obsidian Glass hadn't said much since accepting the yellow filly's offer. As he stood just outside of the gates of the farm though, he chose to speak.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Applebloom?" He asked. Sweetie Belle had the same question in mind.

"Of course. It's no trouble." Applebloom said.

"Out of blunt curiosity, why doesn't your sister let you have colts over for sleepovers?" Glass inquired.

"Oh, because…" the yellow filly paused. "Ah don't know." She eventually said.

"You should ask her someday." Glass said simply.

"Can we get on with this?" Sweetie Belle asked. Applebloom nodded. The yellow filly went ahead inside, prepared to distract her family while Sweetie Belle took Glass around the other way.

After waiting a few moments, Sweetie Belle wordlessly motioned for Glass to follow her. It had gotten darker as they had arrived at the farm, but they still had to avoid light coming from the windows inside the house.

Before long, the two of them had made it to the barn. Sweetie Belle pushed on the huge doors, trying to open them. Without much success, she turned to Glass. He took both hooves and shoved the door open wide enough for the two of them to walk in side by side if they had wanted to. Sweetie Belle admitted to herself that it had been an impressive show of strength. Glass didn't even seem like it had took him any effort.

"Okay." She said. "So, there's a lot of junk in here." The purple-haired filly indicated all the tools and supplies that probably served an important function on the farm. "But you should be able to find somewhere to sleep."

"Thanks." He said. She turned to leave. "Hey Sweetie Belle." Glass said. She stopped and turned around again.

"What?" She asked.

"You don't like me, do you?" He asked her.

"I don't trust you." She said calmly and began to walk out again.

"Is there a difference?" Glass asked.

Sweetie Belle paused at the doorway. "Maybe not." There was silence.

"Goodnight Sweetie Belle." Glass said finally.

"Goodnight Glass." And she walked home silently.

* * *

**Well I had a severe case of writers block on this chapter. I can't tell you how many ideas I threw out before I settled with this ending. Luckily though the writers block is over (for now) so I'll be cranking out a new chapter of this fanfic, and my other one, before too long. **

**In Bronyhood,**

**Fire Gazer the Alchemist**


	6. Weeding Out the Lies

**Chapter Six – Weeding Out The Lies**

Applebloom relished the fact that she could sleep late that morning. School was officially out for the next two days. Two days of Crusading with her friends without losing eight hours of sunlight to classes. Smiling to herself, Applebloom found a comfortable position in her bed and prepared to relax and be lazy. She might have lain there for another few hours if she hadn't remembered something. _Obsidian Glass was still in her barn!_

Bolting up and snapping awake, Applebloom rushed out of her bed and down the stairs. Partly because, she was worried that Applejack or Big Macintosh would discover Glass in the barn. Also, she was hoping to keep Glass within her sights a little longer. Just long enough to convince him to join the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

In her rush to get downstairs, Applebloom hadn't even considered the possibility that somepony else in the house was awake. The though did cross her mind when she saw and orange mare with a brown hat in the kitchen.

"Howdy Applebloom." Her big sister Applejack said. "What's got you up so early on a Saturday?" The yellow filly froze up. She had no excuse that didn't involve incriminating herself.

"Uh… Ah just uh… Well…" Applebloom stumbled over her words while her brain stayed frozen. Applejack got a look of suspicion in her eye. Mercifully, Applebloom came up with an excuse. "Ah was just going out to the barn to get a head start on today's chores." She said. The yellow filly attempted to make a believable face like she had seen Glass do when he had lied to Cheeriliee. It seemed to work for Applejack, but just barely.

"All right then." Her sister said. "Ah guess ya could start with those nasty weeds that are tryin' to take over the northwest acres." Applebloom grinned and started to head for the door. She stopped upon remembering something.

"Hey Applejack?" She said, turning back to her sister. "Why can't Ah have sleepovers with colts?"

The orange mare was taken aback by Applebloom's question to say the least. When she finally came out of shock she said. "Now what would make ya'll go and ask a question like that?"

"I'm just curious." Applebloom replied honestly. "Why can't Ah?"

Applejack's orange cheeks turned red as she became flustered. "Well, Applebloom, there are uh… reasons… why ya aren't allowed to have colts over to spend the night."

Applebloom tilted her head in curiosity, expecting further explanations. Her sister shifted uncomfortably. It was an incredibly awkward silence, until finally Applebloom decided she was wasting too much time.

"See ya later, Applejack." The yellow filly bounded out of the door, not catching the sigh of relief uttered by her big sister.

As Applebloom ran up to the barn she began to wonder if Glass would still be in there. Sure, it was fairly early in the morning, but she doubted he would have wanted to spend the entire night. Pushing open the barn door with all of her strength, Applebloom peeked her head inside.

No Obsidian Glass in sight.

"Glass?" She whispered into the barn. No response. "Glass?" She whispered, a little louder. Still nothing. The yellow filly sighed. So he had left after all. Applebloom was just about to leave when something caught her ear. It was a soft, rumbling noise. It faded, and then returned. Tracking the sound, Applebloom looked up towards the top of the barn. After a moment, she saw a quick flash of white.

It was Glass. Sleeping. On the rafters of the barn. Nearly forty feet in the air. His chest moved up and the rumbling noise came again. He was snoring. He was perched on a rafter subject to termite damage hanging forty feet in the air, and the dark-haired colt was sleeping.

If Applebloom had taken a moment to think, she probably wouldn't have been too surprised given Glass's above average habits. Instead however, she screamed loudly. The sound reverberated throughout the barn, doubtlessly hitting Glass's eardrums. He began to move.

A horrifying image of Glass plummeting to his death flashed across her eyes. This prediction didn't come to pass however, as Glass merely stretched and woke up in a similar manner that he had the previous day.

"Hey Applebloom." He said from the rafters. "How's your morning going?"

"Glass are you crazy?" Applebloom squeaked out.

"Probably. Why do you ask?" He called down.

"Ya couldha died!" Applebloom shouted at him. Glass chuckled. "Stop laughin' this is serious!" The yellow filly protested.

"You might want to quiet down before somepony hears you." He warned. Applebloom froze. Between her screaming and scolding, she had completely forgotten that her family would have easily been able to hear her. Quickly, she stuck her head back out the barn door and scanned around. The path from the barn to the house was clear. Apparently nopony had heard her. Just to be safe, she looked out to the orchard. Distantly, she saw the red figure of Big Mac already bucking apple trees in the far fields. No way he could have heard her.

Turning back inside, she got the second biggest surprise of the day. Glass was now standing two feet in front of her, smiling. Applebloom nearly jumped out of her coat in surprise.

"Don't do that!" She shouted.

He raised an eyebrow an innocently asked, "Do what?"

She gestured to all of him. "That… that teleporting thing you do."

He laughed again. "I didn't teleport down here." He tapped his forehead with his hoof. "Not exactly a unicorn here, Applebloom."

"Then how did you get down so fast? How did you get down at all?" The yellow filly bluntly asked. Glass pointed off to the side.

"There's your answer." He said. She followed his pointing to a pulley system on the side of the wall, a remnant from the last barn raising. She realized Glass had used it to get up and down from the rafters.

"That was still dangerous." She said. "Why didn't you just sleep on the floor?"

Obsidian shrugged. "I like heights." He said. Peeking over her shoulder, he seemed to notice the sun just over the horizon. "Dang, what time is it?" He inquired.

"I reckon it's about seven o'clock." Applebloom said, glancing at the still rising sun.

"Do you always get up this early?" Glass asked.

"Early?" Applebloom said, taken aback. "This is pretty late to be gettin' up on the farm. Normally Ah'm up and active before six."

"Every day?" Glass asked incredulously.

"Yup." Applebloom said proudly, having never thought her sleeping habits would be something to brag about.

"Must be nice to have some consistency I guess." He said.

After a short pause, Applebloom said, "Yeah, it's pretty nice."

Glass looked around and said. "So, what did you wake me up for?"

"Oh." Applebloom said. "I was going ask you about joining the Cutie Mark Crusaders again."

He sighed. "Come on Applebloom, if this friendship is going to work out, you've got to stop pestering me about that."

Applebloom suddenly perked up, realizing what he had just said. "So, we are friends?" She asked happily.

Glass grinned. "Yeah, I don't see how we couldn't be."

"Great!" Applebloom said, a cheery tone in her voice. She saddened when she remembered that Glass's answer to joining the club was still no. "Will ya at least tell me why ya don't wanna join the Crusaders?"

"I'm just not into finding my Cutie Mark. Can we leave it at that?" Glass said. Applebloom nodded, but was determined to pry the real answer out of him. "Great." He said. "So now that I'm up, what do you want to do," He nudged her shoulder playfully "friend?"

"Well, I do kinda have some chores to do, but I could put them off…" Glass immediately stopped her.

"I'll help you with them." He said.

"Really?" Applebloom asked. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo never wanted to work on the farm with her.

"Yeah, I do kinda owe you for last night." He said. "And who knows? Farm work could be a blast."

"Well then," Applebloom said, "what are we waiting for?"

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Applebloom and Obsidian Glass were yanking up the weeds on the northwest field of Sweet Apple Acres. Applebloom had explained the basics of the process, which was probably an easy concept to grasp that needed no explanation, and the two friends went the work. Glass was actually really efficient at pulling out the weeds from the ground and – as much as Applebloom hated to admit it – was already faster than she was. With the two of them working together, she surmised that they would be done within the hour.

Applebloom watched Glass as he worked. The young colt looked about the same as he did last night, including the bruise on his cheek. She noticed he would incessantly rub it whenever he took a break from the weeding, as if to remind himself that it was still there. The yellow filly couldn't help but feel curiousity about the bruise. Obviously last night's story about running into a wall had been a lie, which led Applebloom to wonder why he would cover up the truth about the bruise as well.

As the two neared the halfway point, Applebloom saw an orange figure approaching them. Her sister was checking up on her.

"Glass, you've got ta hide. Mah sister's coming." She said to him. He looked up.

"I don't see why that's reason for me to hide."

"Ya hafta hide because she doesn't know ya spent the night in the barn."

"Then don't tell her."

"But—" Applebloom wanted to explain how she was never able to hide something from her sister, but it was too late.

"Hey Applebloom. Who's your friend there?" Applejack said.

"He's uh…" Applebloom stumbled; still too worried her big sister would uncover her secret.

"Obsidian Glass. I'm a friend of Applebloom's from school." Glass said, stepping in to save her. "I stopped by to see if she wanted to hang out, and before I know it, I've volunteered to help her with her chores." Glass warm, friendly smile bolstered the false claim he made. Applejack looked to Applebloom for confirmation, and she weakly smiled; which at that point, was more than enough.

"Well, it's always nice to have extra help around here. It's nice to meet you by the way Obsidian Glass. Ah'm Applejack."

"You can just call me Glass." He said, extending a hoof. "Everyone does." The two shook and Applejack trotted off to do some more work, waving goodbye to the two of them as she left.

With her sister safely out of earshot, Applebloom turned to Glass. "How do you do that?" The yellow filly asked.

"What? Introduce myself?" He asked, knowing what she meant.

"No, how do you lie so easily? I never seem to be able to do that."

"Well, I didn't lie. Not technically." He said. Applebloom cocked her head, wanting to know more. "All I did was tell her I stopped by – which is the truth – and I told her I volunteered to do you chores – another truth."

"Okay fine, you didn't lie to my sister. But at class the other day, you told Cheerilee that I reminded you to get a pencil, when I didn't. Explain that one." She demanded.

"Simple, you did remind me. Just indirectly. By asking me to get your pencil, I was reminded that I needed one of my own." Glass explained.

"Wow." There was silence as the red-maned filly absorbed that. "You make it sound so easy." Applebloom said.

"It is, once you get the hang of it." He said. "Now come on, I do believe these weeds need to be extirpated."

"Look who brought their dictionary with them." Applebloom stated. The two laughed and yanked out more weeds.

* * *

**Well this has to be my favorite chapter so far. Obsidian Glass is finally ceasing to be the mysterious, sneaky colt and open up to Applebloom. More secrets are soon to be spilled, and they're only going to get better from here on out. Thanks for all your feedback so far Bronies, it's all really appreciated, so keep it coming.**

**In Bronyhood,**

**Fire Gazer the Alchemist**


	7. Separate Ways

**Chapter Seven – Separate Ways**

A knocking sound roused Scootaloo from her slumber. Her eyes sluggishly opened, and searched the insides of her room for the noise's source. She didn't see anything that indicated the knocking sound, and decided to fall back asleep. No sooner had she closed her eyes then the sound returned, forcing them open again.

"So much for sleeping in." She wearily slurred to herself. The orange filly felt like muffling the noise by covering her ears with her pillow. The knocking raged on however in its quest to ruin Scootaloo's morning.

Finally, Scootaloo realized the sound she was hearing was coming from the front door of her house. Reluctantly, she got up and went to see who it was, and why they were making a house call so early in the morning.

Her tired brain kicked in finally, and Scootaloo thought that it might be her dad arriving home from his trip. Scootaloo then realized that foolish that was. If her father needed to get inside, he had a key and wouldn't bother to knock.

Upon reaching the door, she unlocked the deadbolt and turned the knob. A gray face with criss-crossed eyes greeted her. "Hi Scootaloo!" Derpy Hooves merrily said.

"Hey there Derpy. Checking in on me again?" Scootaloo tiredly said. Derpy's blonde mane bounced wildly as she nodded her head.

"Yep. Your dad wanted me to check on you every morning to make sure you were all right!" Derpy proudly said, no doubt happy somepony had actually trusted her with responsibility. Scootaloo knew that her dad had probably been in a hurry and had asked to first mare he'd seen to look after her. Still, she didn't want to put a damper on Derpy's happiness.

"Well, I'm doing fine. Thanks for stopping by." The magenta-haired filly started to close the door, ready to fall asleep again.

"Oh, wait!" Derpy said in an urgent tone. Scootaloo stopped shutting her front door and listened. "Your dad also mentioned that I shouldn't let you sleep in all day. He wanted you to be productive or something." The wall-eyed mare relayed.

Scootaloo smiled for Derpy's sake. "Of course I will." She said.

"Okay, great! Goodbye Scootaloo." Derpy said.

"Bye Derpy." The orange filly responded. She watched the gray mare trot away, before slowly shutting her front door. Well, for better or worse, Scootaloo was awake. She just didn't feel like being "productive" as her dad so aptly put it.

Giving the clock on the fireplace mantle a glance, Scootaloo saw that it was just about eight-thirty. Way too early for her to wake up on a Saturday. But she was awake, so there was no going back now. She stood where she was, struck with the burden of having nothing to do. Wistfully, she looked at her scooter, which had remained untouched since she had trudged home a day and a half ago.

Already the blue, wooden scooter had a thin layer of dust on it. Scootaloo wanted nothing more than to ride that scooter around Ponyville, but until she found a way to fix it then she was stuck. For a moment, Scootaloo wondered if her dad could help her fix it when he got back. The orange filly dismissed the thought. Her dad – assuming he was home long enough for Scootaloo to ask the question – wouldn't know anything about fixing a scooter. No, she was on her own to repair it.

Distracting herself from the depressing thoughts of the scooter, the magenta-haired filly gazed outside. It was a beautiful day to say the least. Not to warm, but not to cool. There seemed to be a gentle breeze outside because the leaves of the trees were swaying in consistent rhythm. Perfect scooter weather.

"No." Scootaloo said aloud. "Don't think about that." She needed to get out of the house. Maybe Sweetie Belle or Applebloom were up for Crusading today. That last thought sparked a memory for Scootaloo. Obsidian Glass had stayed in Applebloom's barn last night. Maybe, if she was lucky, he would still be there.

That thought actually managed to push the thoughts of her scooter out of her mind. The idea already brought up several new thoughts. It seemed like whenever Scootaloo thought about the strange, white colt that she got a weird feeling inside of her. No matter what she tried, the feeling always appeared, especially if Glass was nearby. Whatever it was, it made her feel great. Maybe that's why she couldn't seem to act normal whenever Glass was around.

Scootaloo finally decided that she would go to Sweet Apple Acres. Even if Glass wasn't there, she would still get to go Crusading with Applebloom and probably Sweetie Belle too. As she ran towards the door, Scootaloo instinctively reached for her helmet and scooter before remembering that it was pointless. She sighed, but continued out the door.

She raced through town and to the farm. By the time she got there, Scootaloo was sweating a great deal. The trek to Sweet Apple Acres seemed a lot longer without her usual mode of transport. Finally though it was over, Scootaloo walked right through the gate, figuring she would be welcome, and began the search for Applebloom and Glass.

After what seemed like forever – but was probably closer to five minutes – Scootaloo slumped by a random apple tree, convinced her friends were hiding from her. That feeling only lasted a moment, because then Scootaloo heard something that sounded suspiciously like apple bucking. This was followed by the sound of dozens of apples pelting the ground.

"How do ya do that?" A familiar filly's voice rang out. Scootaloo poked her head around the trunk and saw not three trees away Glass and Applebloom, standing in a pile of apples.

"Hey guys!" Scootaloo said, making her presence known. Both Applebloom and Glass turned their heads to face her.

"Scootaloo! When did you get here?" Applebloom joyously asked.

"I just arrived. What are you guys doing?" Scootaloo asked.

"We..." Glass started before Applebloom exictedly cut him off.

"Glass has bin helping me do mah chores." The yellow filly said.

"And as it turns out, I'm a natural born apple bucker." Glass said, gesturing to the huge pile of apples next to them. Scootaloo looked up at the tree they had come from, and saw that the limbs were completely bare.

"You did that?" Scootaloo asked incredulously. The orange filly had seen Applebloom buck trees before, or try to, but she could never manage to knock more than a couple off.

"In one strike too!" Applebloom said, impressed.

"It was nothing. You told me your brother and sister do that all the time." Glass said.

"Well, yeah." Applebloom admitted. "But they've bin doin' it for years. This was your first time."

"How'd you get to be so strong?" Scootaloo asked. Glass shrugged, uncomfortable with the question.

"Well, it don't matter too much." Applebloom said. "Thanks for helping me get all man chores done." The yellow filly told him.

"Don't we have more trees to buck?" Glass asked. Applebloom shook her head.

"Nah. I just wanted to see if ya could do it."

"You guys want to grab Sweetie Belle and go Crusading?" Scootaloo asked. Applebloom suddenly gave her a worried look that basically screamed "Abort Mission!"

"What?" The magenta haired filly asked. Then she saw Glass. He looked more distant, like somepony who had just been ousted. "Oh." Scootaloo said, suddenly realizing that Glass was still not part of the Crusaders.

"Look, its okay." Glass said, but his voice betrayed him. "I'll just go."

"Glass, we didn't..." Applebloom's plea went unnoticed, Glass was already walking off.

"Wait!" Scootaloo called. Though Glass had a head start, Applebloom and Scootaloo ran to catch him. Glass rounded a tree trunk. When Scootaloo went around the same one, she was shocked to find that there was nopony there.

"What the hay?" Applebloom about a half second later. They stared at each other in shock. Obsidian Glass was gone again.

* * *

"So he disappeared again." Sweetie Belle said. It wasn't a question, it was a statement. The purple-haired unicorn sounded like she had expected that to happen. Applebloom nodded.

"Why does he keep doing this?" Scootaloo asked aloud. The orange filly was angry. Angry at Glass for disappearing, again. She slammed her hoof down on the table she was sitting just to demonstrate how angry she was. Sweetie Belle flinched when she did that, sending her sundae flying. It splattered on the floor.

"I've got it!" And extra happy voice shouted. A pink blurred whoosed by their table and in a split second the sundae mess was back to the sparkling tiled floor of Sugar Cube Corner.

"You want another sudae?" Pinkie Pie asked, now standing next to Sweetie Belle.

The white filly was wide eyed for a moment, before saying, "Yes, please." The pink mare zoomed off the to kitchen.

"Scootaloo, what has gotten into you?" Applebloom asked.

"I'm sorry, I just don't get why Glass had to run off like that." Scootaloo said. "He

"He was upset because we were talking about Crusading in front of him." Applebloom said.

"I don't see how that would upset anyone." Sweetie Belle said, joining the conversation. "I'm totally fine with him not joining."

"He isn't a Crusader that's why." Applebloom said.

"Well then why doesn't he join our club? We've offered plenty of times." Scootaloo exclaimed. Sweetie Belle looked like she wanted to say something about that, but thought better of it.

"Look, Ah want Glass to join the Crusaders too, but we can't force 'im to join."

"Why've you suddenly changed your mind?" Scootaloo asked. "Yesterday you wanted Glass to join as much as me."

Applebloom hesitated. "Well, Ah just don't think we should force it on him." She explained. "He'll join if he wants to."

"But what if he doesn't?" Scootaloo asked. Applebloom opened her mouth to speak, but Sweetie Belle spoke up.

"I'm getting sick of this!" She announced, standing up.

"What are ya-" Applebloom started.

"Don't you two care about anything besides Glass?" The unicorn filly shouted. "I just can't take it anymore." Both Scootaloo and Applebloom stared at her quietly. "I'm going to take a walk." Sweetie Belle declared, before storming out of the store. Both the yellow Earth pony and the orange pegasus were too shocked to say or do anything. Instead, the only pony who did anything to deter Sweetie Belle was Pinkie Pie, asking if she wanted to stay and finish her sundae. Sweetie Belle promptly declined.


	8. I Knew You Were Trouble

**Chapter Eight – I Knew You Were Trouble**

Sweetie Belle kicked the pale, black stone in front of her, pretending it was Obsidian Glass's head. It tumbled down the dirt road for a little bit, before inevitably stopping. Sweetie Belle walked three steps to catch up to it.

"You're ruining everything." The purple-haired filly accused the rock. She gave it another swift kick, sending it down the dirt path. She imagined that the rock could talk back to her.

"What did I do?" The rock asked in the snarky voice of Glass.

"You've been messing with my friend's heads!" Sweetie Belle shouted, chasing after the rock and kicking it again. "Why would you do that?" The rock stand-in of Glass tumbled some more but did not answer. Some ponies nearby stared at her momentarily, confused at why a random filly was screaming at a rock. She ignored them till they moved on.

"I really don't like you." She hissed at the rock, still pretending it was Glass.

"You know, Gummy and I both think that talking to rocks is strange and not exactly healthy either." A familiar and hated, smooth as glass voice told her. She looked around for a moment, then – remembering a well-known fact about Glass – searched upward.

On the top of a two story building on the same side of the street as Sweetie Belle, Obsidian Glass sat next to a green reptile of sorts. Looking a little closer, Sweetie identified it to be Pinkie Pie's pet alligator.

"What do you care?" She finally managed to ask.

"What kind of friend would I be if I didn't care?" Glass said.

"We're not friends." Sweetie Belle replied. Glass responded simply. He sat Gummy on his head, and leapt off the building. Sweetie Belle knew better than to worry at this point, and watched calmly as Glass caught a loose brick on the structure, and swung down. He landed softly in front of Sweetie Belle, seemingly unfazed about yet another potentially dangerous fall. Gummy was equally undisturbed, and had taken to teething on the silver streak in Glass's hair.

"And why is that?" He asked.

"I don't like you." Sweetie Belle said. Gummy sensed the impending negative energy, and hopped off the top of Glass's head.

"You don't trust me." Glass reminded her. She grunted, realizing he was using her own words against her.

"Shouldn't you be moping right now?" Sweetie Belle said, attempting to change the subject. Glass's demeanor did not change.

"I was, for a bit. But Gummy here helped me see reason." Glass held out his hoof, about to pet the alligator. Gummy responded by viciously snapping his jaw around Glass's hoof. Sweetie Belle flinched at how fast the gator moved. Glass, instead of crying out in pain, laughed.

"That never gets old, Gummy!" He said. The gator released the hoof and blinked. Then he slowly walked away. Glass turned his attention back to Sweetie Belle. "You know, I should ask why you aren't with the other Crusaders."

"None of your business." She said. Gummy returned, carrying in his mouth a very familiar looking rock.

"I should think it is." Glass said, accepting the rock from Gummy. "Judging by the way you were talking to _me_ about it." Sweetie Belle clenched her teeth.

"Look, because you keep refusing to join the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Applebloom has practically been killing herself trying to figure out what's wrong with the club, and Scootaloo…" Sweetie Belle paused. "I don't really know what's wrong with Scootaloo." She admitted.

"So I'm to blame for that." Glass said. Sweetie Belle nodded. "Am I also to blame for the fact that you don't resent my decision?"

The white unicorn filly froze. "How did you know that?" She asked quietly.

Glass gave a semi-devilish grin – bruised face and all – and said, "Says it all over your face."

"Forget you!" Sweetie screamed. She stormed passed him, Gummy bouncing out of her way just in time. She made it all of two steps before a pale, black stone landed in front of her. Partly furious, partly impressed, Sweetie Belle turned back around at the white colt. "What?!" She yelled.

"What will it take?" Glass said calmly. "What will it take to get you to stop seeing me as a villain?"

Sweetie Belle took a deep breath and a long thought before saying, "I wouldn't mind getting a Cutie Mark."

* * *

"Where do ya think she went?" Applebloom asked.

"I don't know." Scootaloo said.

"When do ya think she'll be back?" The yellow filly persisted.

"I don't know." The orange pegasus repeated.

The two friends had been walking in a wide loop of Ponyville for a while now, neither of them any closer to finding Sweetie Belle. They would have immediately gone after their friend, if Pinkie Pie hadn't made them finish their deserts first. The party pony had claimed that no desert should ever go wasted, and made it clear to the remaining Crusaders that they weren't going to leave without a little indulgence.

Now the two were aimlessly wondering through town, checking every corner for Sweetie Belle, and coming up short every time.

"Do ya think she was right. Have we bin obsessing over Glass?" Applebloom asked.

"I don't— maybe." Scootaloo said. "I just have this funny feeling about him you know? Like, when he's around, things just feel real good. My whole body gets this warm feeling, and my coat gets all prickly and kinda sweaty. You know what that feeling is like?" Applebloom shook her head. She had never had a feeling like that before. She had an idea about it though.

"Ah think, maybe, ya might like Glass." Applebloom said.

"Of course I like him. We're friends. I think. Sort of." Scootaloo told her. The yellow filly shook her head.

"Ah think ya might like him just a little bit more than that." She said. Applebloom noticed her friend's ordinarily orange cheeks become flushed with red.

"What?!" She sputtered. "That's crazy Applebloom. I don't like Glass that way. I just, well… um…" Scootaloo found herself saved from answering when Applebloom suddenly found herself tripping and falling on the ground. As she stood up, the yellow filly saw what it was she had tripped over.

"Gummy!" She said aloud. Scootaloo was perplexed, having never met the alligator before.

"Applebloom, please tell me you know this alligator." She said. The red-maned filly nodded.

"This is Gummy, Pinkie Pie's alligator." Applebloom informed Scootaloo. She turned to face the reptile. "What're ya doing out here, little guy?" She asked, expecting no response seeing as how she wasn't Fluttershy and could not in any way communicate with animals. To her surprise however, Gummy responded. The green little reptile rotated his body in a weird, wobbling manner, and pointed with his tail.

Both Applebloom and Scootaloo followed the direction Gummy had pointed to, and saw in the distance two white ponies heading for the Everfree Forest.

"Sweetie Belle." Applebloom said, recognizing her friend.

"And Glass." Scootaloo said, recognizing the other.

* * *

Sweetie Belle crossed into the darkly shaded territory of the Everfree Forest to the tune of "Muskrat Love". Or well, a very poor coverage of. Obsidian Glass, despite his many talents, was tone deaf when it came to whistling.

"Will you stop butchering that song!" The purple-haired filly yelled. Glass abruptly stopped whistling.

"Sorry." He said quietly. "So what kind of Cute Mark can you even get in the Everfree Forest?"

"Any kind really. Why do you ask? Are you scared of going into one of the most dangerous place in all of Equestria?" Sweetie Belle taunted him, grinning slyly. This was the whole purpose for her reason to want to come into the Everfree Forest. Not only would it convince Glass to stop his quest to become her friend, it would practically excommunicate him from ever joining the Cutie Mark Crusaders out of fear. The dark-haired colt claimed not to want in, but Sweetie Belle suspected otherwise.

Another good reason to see if he was scared of Everfree was because Sweetie Belle wanted to find some personality flaw with him. Being scared of going into the cursed forest – something the Crusaders had done often – would be a sure way to get Applebloom and Scootaloo to not like him.

"Nah. Not really." Glass said, earnestly. Sweetie Belle's plan fell apart right there. If Glass had said that more defensively, Sweetie Belle would know he was lying. Instead though, Glass said it as nonchalantly as he said anything else. "What exactly are you hoping for in your Cutie Mark?" Glass asked her, continuing to traverse the gnarled ground of the deadly forest.

Sweetie Belle gave a quick look back at the entrance to the forest. It seemed to be swallowed up by the brush and foliage as they went deeper. Now that her plan was ruined, she didn't have any reason to stay in the forest longer than she had to.

"Uh... You know, just a Cutie Mark. Something to define me." Sweetie Belle said.

"That's stupid." Glass bluntly remarked. Sweetie Belle stopped in her tracks.

"Excuse me?" She asked. Glass stopped too and rotated to face her.

"That's stupid." He repeated. "Your reason for wanting a Cutie Mark is stupid."

"It's stupid?" Sweetie Belle howled with rage. "It's stupid to want to know my place in this world? Stupid to want to know what makes me special? An individual? It's stupid to want the simplest thing anypony can get, especially when so many other ponies already have it and practically rub it in your face every day? That's what you think is _stupid?!_" The white unicorn felt tears well up in her eyes as she angrily poured out emotions she had bottled up for so long.

Glass stood calmly in front of her, accepting every word she angrily spouted at him. "Yes and no." He said. Sweetie Belle screamed in frustration.

"What does that even mean?" She asked wildly.

"Yes, it's stupid to have to be told what about you is special and makes you an individual. Especially when you feel that it's the only thing that makes you different from others. No, it's not stupid to want individualism, because unless you know yourself, you'll never feel good when comparing yourself to other ponies." Glass said, finishing an explanation that left Sweetie Belle slightly less confused, but no less enraged.

Unsure of what to do, Sweetie Belle just slammed her hoofs on the ground, hoping to release her directionless fury. It helped… a little.

"I just don't understand what it is about me that makes me special." Sweetie Belle miserably said. In the distance, there was the howls of supposedly timber wolves who probably picked up on Sweetie Belle's earlier outburst. She and Glass ignored them.

"Are you different from your friends?" Glass asked. She nodded. "Are you different from that pink bully Diamond… something or other?" He asked. Again, Sweetie Belle nodded. "How are you different?" He asked her.

The white unicorn filly paused for a moment to think. "Well, there are a lot of differences between me and my friends, or me and Diamond Tiara." She said.

"Then each one of those differences makes you special. Not because of some mark on your flank, but because you are you." A single tear trickled down Sweetie Belle's cheek. The timber wolf howled again, closer. Again it was ignored.

"Really?" She asked. "You aren't lying?"

"You think I followed you out here to the Everfree Forest and delivered that whole monologue just to lie to you?" Glass asked with mock incredulousness. "I would think my friend would know better than that."

Sweetie Belle felt the faintest of smiles creep up on her face. She did not refute Glass's statement.

She wouldn't have, even if she got the chance. Because at that moment, a timber wolf broke through the trees and roared at them both.

Sweetie Belle was frozen with so much fear that she couldn't scream. Glass just looked at her with the most brilliant poker face ever.

"Think we should leave the Everfree Forest now?" He asked.

* * *

**Okay, I really despise Taylor Swift and her music, but this chapter title was too good an opportunity to pass up. With that explained, this might have been one of the most emotional chapters I have ever put together. This was probably due to the fact that I was fueled by Sweetarts for the majority of it. Please give me your thoughts and criticisms. I will thrive on both.**

**In Bronyhood,**

**Fire Gazer the Alchemist**


	9. Hooves Don't Fail Me Now

**Chapter Nine – Hooves Don't Fail Me Now**

Applebloom's hooves were carrying her as fast as physically possible. After Gummy's enlightening revilement of the location of both of her missing friends – whether the gator had done that accidentally or on purpose she will never know – the yellow filly had taken off after them. Scootaloo was right in front of her. Even though the orange filly was lacking her scooter, she was slightly more athletic than Applebloom, giving her the lead.

"Why would Glass and Sweetie Belle go off into the Everfree Forest alone?" Applebloom inquired as the two fillies ran.

"Maybe they were, umm… I really don't know, Applebloom." Scootaloo panted back. Suddenly, the orange pegasus tripped and tumbled down to the ground. Applebloom immediately stopped to check on her friend.

"I'm fine." Scootaloo said, standing. Looking at the ground, Applebloom saw that Scootaloo had stumbled over one of three small ruts somepony had carelessly dug into the ground. "This wouldn't have happened if my scooter wasn't broken." The orange pegasus dejectedly said.

"No time to worry 'bout that now. We need to get to Sweetie Belle and Glass. Ah have a feelin' they might need our help." Applebloom told her friend. Scootaloo nodded, knowing the yellow filly was probably right.

"Then let's not waste any more time." She exclaimed. The two picked up their original pace, quickly making up for lost time. The grassy ground of Ponyville gave way to a bare, dirt ground as they neared the Everfree Forest. It seemed as if the grass itself knew better than to go near the cursed forest.

The two fillies reached the spot they had seen their friends enter Everfree. Both simultaneously halted before going in. Applebloom shared a look with Scootaloo, both knowing that entering the forest would be no picnic.

"Do ya think we should tell somepony?" Applebloom asked. "Mah sister could likely help us."

Scootaloo shook her head, flinging several drops of dirty sweat in all directions. "Too late now, we're already here." Applebloom nodded, conceding to Scootaloo's argument. Both looked back at the Everfree forest with slight uncertainty. They were tentative to take steps in there, despite having survived it before.

A sharp, unmistakable scream snapped them out of this trance. The two friends identified it instantly. "Sweetie Belle." Applebloom said, under her breath. There was no hesitation after that. Both of the fillies dived into the thick and dangerous hazard that was called the Everfree Forest.

* * *

Sweetie Belle had finally found enough courage to scream, and she did so with all her might. The looming timber wolf – a massive and hungry-looking beast – paused as if its ears were hurt. When Sweetie Belle finally ran out of breath, she stopped her cry of fear.

Glass stared at her, looking slightly annoyed. "Geez, you get mad at me for whistling, and then you go and do that?" He rubbed his hoof to his ear lobe. "I think there might be some serious damage here. Thanks a lot."

"G-Glass…" Sweetie Belle said, now shaking with fear. "T-timber wolf!"

Glass turned his head with mild interest at the massive monster. "Yeah, I can see that. It's no real concern. On the other hoof, my ear drums as still ringing slightly. That's a little disturbing. Do you think that's a sign of permanent damage?"

Sweetie Belle had the immediate thought of fleeing. In fact, running away was about her only thought at that moment. Unfortunately, her hooves did not get the message, as they stayed firmly planted to the ground. She realized that she was frozen with fear at this point. "Glass, I can't move." She whispered through clenched teeth.

The timber wolf, clearly still unhappy about Glass's dismissal, roared loudly at him.

"Do you mind?" Glass said to the timber wolf. The beast paused, seemingly confused as to why it's prey was not terrified or fleeing. "We're kind of having a conversation here."

"Glass, we need to escape!" Sweetie Belle squeaked. She could still not move. The timber wolf leaned in real close to Glass and roared again, probably expecting another reaction.

The foul odor of the timber wolf's breath assaulted Sweetie Belle's nose. It was so bad she recoiled, fell back, and landed on her plot. At least she could move again. Glass wrinkled his snout, having sniffed the breath of the beast himself.

"Sweet Celestia, you need a breath mint." He said.

* * *

Applebloom and Scootaloo cut there way through the stagnant bushes and brustle of the trees just in time to hear Glass's breath mint remark.

"Glass! Sweetie Belle!" She called out happily. Glass cocked his head around to see them. That's when Applebloom saw the timber wolf, which until that moment she had somehow unconsciously ignored.

"Oh crap! What's a timber wolf doing here?" Scootaloo screamed. The yellow filly felt her legs turn to jelly. She could barely stand out of pure fear. The orange pegasus to her left seemed to be in an almost worse state.

"We have to get out of here!" Sweetie Belle said, a mere five feet from Glass who himself was directly in front of the wooden monster.

The timber wolf must have felt like its time to wait was up. With a final, heinously scented roar it raised a wooden claw, ready to strike Glass. Sweetie Belle backed up swiftly, drawing herself out of danger. Glass looked… mildly interested at best.

As the wooden monster's claw came down, Scootaloo shrieked. Glass deftly sidestepped the beasts' attack with little effort. For a moment the timber wolf looked confused. Seizing the advantage, Glass grabbed a moderately sized stone and chucked it at the monster. The rock sailed right into the glowing yellow eye of the timber wolf and it howled in pain.

"Both of you, back up now!" Glass suddenly yelled at them. Applebloom was confused at his remark, but Scootaloo grabbed her and pulled the yellow filly back into the bushes behind them. It was just in time too, for the timber wolf had released a semi-blind strike in their general direction. Applebloom felt the wind of the blow as it passed by her and Scootaloo. It had missed them by mere inches.

"Are you sure you still want to do this?" Glass asked the timber wolf as it blinked away the pain in its eye. It responded by moving its massive foot to step on Glass. He jumped to avoid it, and landed on a tree branch _ten feet away and twenty feet up!_

Applebloom blinked to make sure she wasn't imagining things. Nope. Obsidian Glass had preformed a leap that most ponies would need wings to accomplish.

"So I guess we aren't going to rationally work this out then." Glass said from his branch. The wooden monster looked around in confusion before spying him in the tree. "That's cool."

The timber wolf roared again and rushed forward to strike Glass on the tree limb. Glass preformed another incredible leap, and the timber wolf only managed to smash the branch Glass had originally sitting on.

The white colt landed on the top of the timber wolf's head. In retaliation, the timber wolf raised a claw to strike Glass again. Glass took one step forward, sending himself nimbly sliding down the monster's back. The timber wolf's attack – meant for Applebloom's friend – ended up striking it's own head with extreme force. The blow smashed the beast's head into hundreds of splinters, which were sent in all directions.

The three fillies shut their eyes as the splinters flew through the air. When it was safe to look again, Applebloom opened her eyes again. She saw the formerly intimidating timber wolf now lying on the ground, headless.

"Is it over?" Sweetie Belle asked, worriedly. Applebloom nodded. She was certain that timber wolf would not be getting up again.

"But where is…" Scootaloo began to ask.

"Right here." A familiar voice called out. The trio turned around to see as grinning dark-haired colt with a toothpick-sized piece of the timber wolf between his teeth.

"Glass!" Scootaloo exclaimed happily. She ran forward in an orange blur a hugged the colt so hard the wind was actually knocked out of him. The little toothpick fell out of his mouth.

"Geez. Maybe I should save you from certain doom more often." Glass said, grinning. Scootaloo released him from the hug, blushing.

"That was amazing, Glass!" Applebloom told him.

"How did you do that?" Sweetie Belle asked.

Glass shrugged his shoulders. "You saw me do it. Why are you asking that question?" Sarcasm again. Sweetie Belle gave an exasperated – yet friendly – sigh of annoyance.

"We should probably get out of here." Applebloom said, reminding her friends that they were still in one of the most dangerous places in all of Equestria.

"Yeah." Scootaloo said. Everypony was silent for a moment. They were all thinking the same thought, but Glass was the only one brave enough to say it out loud.

"Anypony know the way out?" Glass asked, grin ablaze. "Because I've got nothing."

An hour later, the four ponies managed to drag themselves out of the Everfree forest. Luckily, they had avoided any run-ins with the more dangerous fauna. In fact, once the timber wolf was defeated, the only other creature they saw was the star spider that landed in Sweetie Belle's purple mane. After about twenty seconds of screaming, Glass had managed to get her still enough to flick it away.

"It's good ta finally be out of there." Applebloom said, tiredly. She saw that Celestia's sun had begun its descent in the sky. "What time is it anyways?" She asked.

"Late enough that we should probably think about heading home." Sweetie Belle replied. "No use trying for a Crusade when we'd have to stop it in a few minutes anyway."

Applebloom gave a dejected look. "Darn." She said.

"At least we have tomorrow." Scootaloo said, cheering her up a little.

"Yeah, we can do something then." Applebloom said. She looked to Glass to make sure they hadn't hurt his feelings again, but he had become preoccupied by a gator who had wandered up to them.

"I guess I'll just go home. See you all tomorrow." Sweetie Belle said. The white unicorn walked away, waving goodbye to her friends.

Applebloom waved back for a moment, then turned to Scootaloo and Glass. "What are you guys planning to do?" She asked them.

"Convince Gummy to let go of my foreleg." Glass said, outstretching his hoof to show the dangling reptile latching onto it.

"I'll probably just go home and try to fix my scooter some more." Scootaloo said. Glass's attention turned to her.

"You've got a broken scooter?" He asked, tugging at Gummy some in a vain attempt to get the alligator off of him.

"Yeah, it's been broke for a few days now." The orange pony dejectedly said. "I've been trying to fix it but…"

"I'll help you." Glass said, finally wringing Gummy off his leg. He set the gator down and let him wobble off.

"Really?" Scootaloo said, perking up. Her wings flapped vigorously. Glass didn't let on if he noticed her change in demeanor or not.

"Yeah, no problem." He said.

"Well let's go!" Scootaloo said. Glass began to walk off, but Applebloom caught Scootaloo for a moment.

"See if ya can find out how he managed ta beat that timber wolf." She whispered. The magenta-haired filly nodded.

"If your curious, all you had to do was ask." Glass said, still walking off. Applebloom blushed, realizing he had heard what she just said.

"Okay, then. Goodbye. Ah gotta get home myself." Applebloom said. Scootaloo walked off with Glass and Applebloom began to make her way back to the farm. She only wished she could be there for the conversation those two were about to have.

* * *

**Yeah, this took longer than normal. Sorry about that. I've been trying to finish up my other story first, since it's almost done, but it's been having some issues with my good friend Writer's Block. So I thought I'd come back to this story for a moment and knock out chapter nine. Let me know what you thought of this one.**


End file.
